Good Evening Dear Family of Love!
Happy Take Care Tuesday! Taking care of ourselves means that we give ourselves permission to #Be
To just be means to exist, stay still, be who we are, strive to be authentic in all ways. Tonight I attended Grace Giving our Holiday party for the LGBTQ community where I live. This group is where we find ourselves in a safe place that feels as secure as a safety pin. We got to tell our most memorable queer experience from the past year and I loved telling my coming out story. I finally could be myself without fear. So dear family let's strive to just be as the authentically beautiful person God created us to be. Let us all let everyone be themselves too. Tonight lest us be still and stop the glorification of busy. I'll bet you know where this is taking us, don't you?
Dear ones let us engage in the "Be Stills"
Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.
Repeat as necessary until you feel quiet and at peace.
Let us light our candles and be still in the presence of God.
Beside the still waters we come to seek you God in the quietness of our being.\
Beside the still waters we come to pray for peace in this fragile and broken world of yours
Beside the still waters we pray for and end to all anxiety, fear, and worry that our minds and spirits may be still.
Beside the still waters we pray for our neighbors all over the world that we may find unity and learn to love one another as dearly loved family members of Yours.
Beside the still waters we come for respite, relaxation, rest, and renewal. We pray for calmness as we rest in your arms and never ending love and mercy.
Beside the still waters we come to ask prayers for all our family members who are in need of healing and strength remembering___________________
Beside the still waters we come seeking solace for those of us who are living through the long journey of mourning and grief.
Beside the still waters we come praying for all the least of these and all who are affected by violence, terror, abuse, and everyone who is struggling through the world's calamities.
Beside the still waters we give thanks for the lives who have entered eternal joy today and those who are in the midst of transitioning from this earthly life into a heavenly one.
Beside the still waters we pray for all who are lost, lonely, alone and seeking companionship. We pray that our hearts may be stilled as we wait. We pray that we may not lose heart and live boldly,yet gently alone.
Beside the still waters we pray for _____________________
Beside the still waters we give thanks for _______________
Beside the still waters may we journey over to the other side of the lake and offer our prayers in the quietness to Jesus . Amen.
Let us now in silence light our candles and be at prayer!
Holy God we come to you tonight as we light our candles, pray, and spend time with you and each other. Help us we pray to enter into this time in silence and holy pause that we may seek to know you and your love more fully. Give us we pray the courage to unwind and disconnect from the busy -ness of our daily lives. We ray that as we enter in this time of silent prayer we may with the Holy Spirit's empowerment pray for those things that bubble up within us. Give us this time to seek not our own comfort but for the comfort of others. We pray this night for quietness and safety in our cities. We pray for peace, justice, and universal human rights for all people. We pray that all weapons and sounds of war and calamity may be made still so that we can hear the heartbeats of every living being that you made in love. We light our candles in silence to remember all those who lost their lives in senseless acts of terror and violence today remembering the people in Tel Aviv. We pray this night that in the silence we may rewire our brains and spirits to be compassionate, accepting, loving, and merciful. We pray that in silence we may listen to you and hear the cries of the voiceless ones. We pray these prayers this night in the silence and stillness of our beings in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Let us now take more time in the silence to be in prayer.
Dear God in the silence we hear your voice calling us to love, serve,and give thanks.
In the silence O God,we pray that peace will prevail upon this your fragile and broken world.
In the silence O God, help us to realize that wherever we plant our feet, take a breath, and live that is holy ground for a holy people.
In the silence we pray for all of our family members who are in need of healing of body, mind, and spirits.
In the silence, help us to be still and know that You are God.
In the silence, we pray for the needs of the least of these that we may come into their lives without fear but quietly, gently, and with compassion.
In the silence O God, listen for you walking in your Cathedral of Life at the time of the evening breeze.
In the silence O God, give us loving and joyful hearts that are enlivened and on fire for you!
In the silence O God, we give thanks for all of your goodness and mercy and offer our thanks______
In the silence O God we pray for the troubled areas of the world and for all refugees, captives, political prisoners, victims of human trafficking, and violence in its many forms.
In the silence O God, we pray for all who are mourning the losses of loved ones or any kind of loss. We pray that they may gradually accept silence as cleansing and healing and not something to run away from.
In the silence O God, help us to rely and put our trust in your love, grace, mercy, and inclusion.
In the silence O God, we add our additional prayers for ourselves and on behalf of others especially____________
In the silence O God, we lift up these our prayers to your Only Son Jesus the Christ our redeemer, healer,reconciler, brother, master, and friend, Amen.
Tonight's tidbits from the BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER
For Quiet Confidence
O God of peace, who hast taught us that in returning and
rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be
our strength: By the might of thy Spirit lift us, we pray thee,
to thy presence, where we may be still and know that thou
art God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Prayer attributed to St. Francis
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen
In the Evening
O Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows
lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is
hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done.
Then in thy mercy, grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest,
and peace at the last. Amen
For the Right Use of God’s Gifts
Almighty God, whose loving hand hath given us all that we
possess: Grant us grace that we may honor thee with our
substance, and, remembering the account which we must one
day give, may be faithful stewards of thy bounty, through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm 31 In te, Domine, speravi
1 In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame: *
deliver me in your righteousness.
2 Incline your ear to me; *
make haste to deliver me.
3 Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe,
for you are my crag and my stronghold; *
for the sake of your Name, lead me and guide me.
4 Take me out of the net that they have secretly set for me, *
for you are my tower of strength.
5 Into your hands I commend my spirit, *
for you have redeemed me,
O Lord, O God of truth
*+*+*+*
Let silence be our friend this Winter and always! God speaks to us in the still small voice of CALM (Compassion, Acceptance, Love, and Mercy)
Good Night Dearly Beloved Family Members! I love you! Have a blessed and restful night! May we be united in prayer, love, and family hood and give God thanks for this always. Remember not just do but be.
With love, joy peace, and hope in the stillness,
Sara
P.S. another story from the window tomorrow!
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